


Loft Sweet Loft

by HarkaSun



Series: 5 Months of Shadowhunters Challenge [11]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Leads, Alicante (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Best Husband Alec Lightwood, Dancing Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Diplomat Alec Lightwood, Domestic Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Magnus Bane's Loft, Married Life, Now Magnus AND Alec's Loft, POV Alec Lightwood, Set In The Time Jump, Slow Dancing, Soft Husbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25316932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarkaSun/pseuds/HarkaSun
Summary: Alec Lightwood returns home after a long day's work to find his husband redecorating their apartment. Understanding that Magnus is often alone in their home due to Alec's new career, the shadowhunter makes an effort to spend time doing something that Magnus loves.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: 5 Months of Shadowhunters Challenge [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696138
Comments: 5
Kudos: 151





	Loft Sweet Loft

**Author's Note:**

> For permetstu and izzymalec's 5 Months of Shadowhunters Challenge on Tumblr!
> 
> Week 15: Location  
> ↳ The Loft

From the street, their penthouse apartment shone warm and welcoming. Light spilled from every window and just the sight of it from so far down was enough to make all of Alec’s troubles fall away.

It was the same loft. It was his loft from Brooklyn here in Alicante. Magnus had moved the entire thing with such a rush of magic that it left him dizzy for almost a full week. To anyone else it might have seemed insane, but Alec understood. It was his home after all.

Now, it was Alec’s too.

He took the stairs two at a time like a child, every upward bound washing off another ailment: his tired limbs gaining strength, his aching mind clearing, his worries of all those struggles as a Clave diplomat forgotten. Alec was convinced Magnus had put some kind of enchantment on the entire building, but the warlock insisted it wasn’t true.

By the time he reached the door to the loft, Alec was practically skipping. He entered quietly enough that Magnus didn’t call out his usual greeting. It took a little searching to find him.

Stood before the wall adjacent to the doors of the main room, Magnus was dressed in a long-tailed, lavender cardigan with a white vest top beneath, black leggings ending in fluffy grey socks. He was painting the wall with a roller, a deep, dark yellow. His hair had been getting longer and longer. He usually kept it swept backwards and sideways. Now, it was long enough to be tied back in a messy bun, albeit with a few loose locks framing his face.

Alec’s throat went so tight it was a miracle he could still breathe. Magnus glanced up, noticing him for the first time, and a fond smile curled his lips. If Alec was having trouble before, he was entirely breathless now.

“Hey, you’re back early,” Magnus said as a way of greeting, placing the roller down in the paint tray and sauntering forward to peck a welcoming kiss to his cheek. Alec leaned into it. A curious frown furrowed the warlock’s brow as he pulled away a fraction, still smiling as Alec stared at him. “What is it? Is there paint on my face?”

Alec shook his head, swallowing hard. “You look wonderful.”

Magnus tilted his head, smiling his gratitude. “Thank you, Alexander. You’re pretty handsome yourself.” He fixed the lapels of Alec’s jacket, smoothing them out with a smile. “I love seeing you all dressed up in your finery. A diplomat must have exquisite sartorial taste, of course. I’m sure the Detroit Institute were very impressed.”

“No, I mean it,” Alec muttered, lifting a hand to Magnus’s cheek, openly admiring him. “I’ve never seen you with your hair up before.”

“Oh,” said Magnus, lifting a hand to absently touch his tied back hair. “No, I don’t suppose you have. It’s getting a little long. I suppose I just haven’t found the energy to cut it.”

“I like it,” Alec assured, knowing that Magnus didn’t need his approval, but wishing to compliment him all the same. It was one of his favourite things in the world to do. Magnus deserved to hear every compliment that Alec could come up with. “You’re so beautiful.”

A soft, pink blush dashed Magnus’s cheeks and he smiled into the kiss that Alec pressed to the corner of his mouth, turning his head to align their lips and giving Alec another chaste, close-lipped kiss. When they broke apart, Magnus hummed his satisfaction and rested his forehead against Alec’s own.

“Out of curiosity,” Alec begins, looks to the recently decorated apartment, “why are you painting the walls?”

“Oh, I… You know,” Magnus shrugged, glancing around the apartment, “it’s just to pass the time. I think I’ll leave the rest just bare brick. I’ve done the wall in our bedroom and the one by the door.” He paused and sighed softly. “I’m sorry, uh… things haven’t exactly been busy for me lately.”

Alec swallowed hard, fought not to duck his gaze in guilt. He and Magnus had been in Alicante for almost three months now. The warlock had convinced him to take a diplomat job when it was offered and Alec had convinced The Clave to accommodate a warlock in the city. Sometimes Magnus was allowed to accompany Alec on his trips. More often, he wasn’t. Most days, he was home alone.

Alec tried to help his boredom, but he was so busy with his new role that there wasn’t a great deal of time for them to be together. The timetable was less than ideal, but Magnus never complained.

Because of their separation, however, and Magnus’s aversion to shadowhunters, the warlock was forced to fill the time with a plethora of new hobbies. Alec himself had filled his spare time with training during Magnus’s baking phase, not wanting to lose his physique, but still needing to indulge Magnus’s skills and interests.

There was no denying: his husband was a damn good cook.

The loft was Magnus’s safe space. Outside these walls was a city full of shadowhunters. Alec was doing everything he could to integrate more downworlders into the city, but, in all honesty, he was travelling so much that he was barely in the city either. It wasn’t easy. The downworlders didn’t want to be there and The Clave didn’t want them there. If truth be told, it was a bit of a nightmare.

“So,” Magnus said, touched Alec’s cheek just so briefly, “tell me about your day. How was the Detroit Institute?”

Alec let out a slow breath, shook his head. “You don’t want to hear about my day. It’s boring.”

“Hey,” Magnus chided, clutched Alec’s face in both hands. “You could never bore me, Alexander.”

Lifting his hands, Alec gently prised Magnus’s touch from his face, holding him and tugging him forward. “Regardless, I have other plans right now if you don’t mind.” He tilted his head in soft query. “Dance with me?”

Magnus chuckled. “What?”

“Dance,” Alec echoed slowly and purposefully, “with me.”

Humming his intrigue, Magnus obediently followed his husband to the main room, casting a magic-flared hand out to push the sofas aside and give them some floor space. A surprised kind of laugh escaped his lips when Alec pulled him in by the waist, so their bodies were pressed flush together.

“Looks like someone wants to lead.”

“Is that okay?” Alec asked, worried now that Magnus might not want him leading. Dancing is something important to Magnus, something beautiful and sacred, and the last thing Alec wants to do is ruin it for him. He still wasn’t hugely experienced with the technique.

Magnus snapped his fingers and the stereo began playing out the first chords of a soft melody. “That’s perfect, my love,” he murmured, falling easily into position against Alec’s chest, one hand on his shoulder, the other clasping Alec’s own. “Why the sudden urge to dance…. if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Because you love dancing,” said Alec, placing a hand on Magnus’s waist to pull him in, “and I love you.”

Magnus hummed his intrigue, pressing close to Alec’s chest, allowing the shadowhunter to lead him through the gentle sways of the slow dance. “Still, I didn’t think you liked dancing. Why did you decide to do this all of a sudden? Admittedly, I didn’t take you for the random gesture type.”

Alec frowned and his mouth turned downwards. “What, I can’t do nice things for my husband?”

“Of course you can, Alexander. Don’t be defensive.” He lifted his head to meet his husband’s gaze. “You’re just so purposeful, my darling. This feels so… out of the blue.”

Alec quirked a smile and spun Magnus around, making the warlock chuckle softly as he was pulled back in. “Well, the _purpose_ of this is that I want to be romantic every once in a while, because I love you. You deserve a random gesture type. So, I’m going to dance with my husband in our home, and he’s not going to complain about it.”

“I was not complaining!”

“Then he’s not going to question it,” Alec corrected himself with a smile. “He’s just going to let me dance with him.”

He did.

Magnus didn’t say another word about it, but he was smiling so Alec took that as a win. It made him sad sometimes when Magnus was like that; so surprised to be treated kindly without cause. Even now, when Alec presented him with a gift—just small things like flowers or chocolates—he still seemed so shocked by it.

For someone so loved, Magnus was still the very definition of humility.

He laughed when Alec span and dipped him, his hand coming to the back of Alec’s neck to pull himself into the kiss that his husband pressed to his lips. Alec pulled him up, never daring to break their lips, and, even after so many times, it still felt like magic. The touch of Magnus’s lips on his own still burst fireworks behind closed eyes.

It was still so overwhelming. Alec loved him more than life and Magnus was here and _his_ and he could hardly believe it was true. It still felt like a dream sometimes.

“I love you,” he whispered, one hand to Magnus’s hip, the other still clasping together with the warlock’s own. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Alexander.”

Alec breathed out slowly, pressed his forehead to Magnus’s own, desperate to remain as close as possible but still needing to talk. “I want to stay here,” he said, barely more than a breath. “I want to stay in this moment forever. I want to stay with _you_ forever.”

The hand Magnus had on his shoulder lifted to cradle the side of the shadowhunter’s neck. “Well, I’m not going anywhere.”

Alec hesitated. It was the terrible truth of their relationship. Magnus wasn’t going anywhere, but Alec would have to one day. Angel-blooded he may be, he was mortal.

“Hey,” Magnus uttered, giving him a knowing kind of look, impossibly soft. “You need to learn how to switch off that busy brain, alright?” He kissed Alec softly. “How about we have a quiet night in, yes? We can find an old movie and I can conjure up some food, whatever you want.”

“I want what _you_ want,” Alec said, the pad of his thumb across Magnus’s cheek. “This is my favourite place in the world.”

Magnus angled his head a little to the side. “Your favourite place is the loft, or your favourite place is with me?”

“Both,” said Alec, kissed Magnus soft and slow, “but mainly with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Link to the original Tumblr post: https://harkasun.tumblr.com/post/623829295713894400/loft-sweet-loft


End file.
